The US Postal Service is proposing an amendment to their policies on shipping mailings that violate the Animal Welfare Act, namely publications about animal fighting.
As of last year cockfighting has been banned in every state, and is considered a felony in most. However, there are still magazines dedicated to promoting the so-called sport, including The Gamecock and Grit and Steel. A third publication, The Feathered Warrior, stopped printing in July.
The Humane Society sued the Postal Service in 2007, under the pretense that their refusal to stop mailing cockfighting magazines was a violation of the Animal Welfare Act and the Postal Reorganization Act. In 2009, the Postal Service was ordered by a federal court to reconsider its decision.
“The advertisement and shipping of fighting birds, magazines, knives and other contraband are the glue that holds the animal fighting industry together. It is long past time for the Postal Service to stop enabling this organized criminal industry,” according to the Humane Society.
The Postal Service will be taking comments on the proposed change until September 2, 2009.
For more information, visit the Humane Society’s Cockfighting Fact Sheet.
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